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HR Management

New mental-health parity rules kick in Oct. 3

08/31/2009

The high-voltage debate over health care reform has consumed headlines in recent months, but employers shouldn’t overlook a more immediate change: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that takes effect next month will mandate new coverage limits—and potentially lead to higher costs.

Beware: 1 racist boss may cause class-action

08/28/2009

Here’s how little it takes to land a good organization in the hottest of legal waters: One verified comment by a supervisor showing that he’s against promoting or hiring minority applicants may mean a costly class-action lawsuit. The good news: You can often ferret out hidden discrimination with some simple statistical analysis.

Formal FMLA rules on the books? Enforce ’em!

08/28/2009

Does your handbook include a formal policy regarding FMLA leave requests and absences? If so, make sure you stick to that policy. Bending the rules creates a slippery slope that could land you in court.

Adopt an anti-harassment policy and plan—before workplace malice gets out of hand

08/28/2009

Do you know exactly how you should respond to a sexual or racial harassment complaint? If you don’t, now is a good time to come up with a strategy—before you have to implement it. Advice: Your plan should spell out exactly how the harassment investigation will be handled, who will handle it and what will happen if the allegations prove true.

Health & safety: Understanding North Carolina’s OSHA law

08/28/2009

In 1970, the federal government passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Then in 1973, North Carolina passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina (OSHANC). The North Carolina act has its own administrative and review procedures that aren’t always similar to its federal counterpart.

What should we do before we start taping employees’ phone conversations?

08/26/2009

Q. For quality-control purposes and to ensure that workers are not making personal telephone calls, we would like to tape-record the calls employees make on company phones. Would that be legal?

Can we mandate EAP counseling when employee views porn at work?

08/26/2009

Q. Our Internet policy says that if we find employees accessing pornographic web sites, they’ll receive a three-day suspension without pay and a mandatory referral to an EAP counselor. Can we require this?

Pittsburgh’s WWII atomic plant workers can get compensation

08/26/2009

The DOL has set up a special fund to compensate employees who worked at the Westinghouse Atomic Power Development Plant in East Pittsburgh from 1942 to 1944. They and their relatives are eligible for payments under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Workers at the plant may have been exposed to damaging radiation in the race to build the first atomic bomb.

Can we recoup training costs by withholding pay from an employee’s last paycheck?

08/26/2009

Q. We’ve started requiring employees to repay (through payroll deduction) training costs if they quit or are fired within one year. Are we OK legally?

Rely on individual disability accommodations; you won’t be targeted for a class action

08/25/2009

Here’s a bit of good news for employers: While class-action lawsuits have been all the rage in recent years, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the types of cases that can become class-action claims when the ADA is at the heart of the case.